British Airways and staff urged by prime minister to re-start talks to avert 12-day strikes

The prime minister has today urged British Airways and its workers to re-start talks to resolve a row over pay and conditions.

Gordon Brown’s plea comes as the airline prepared to launch legal action in a last-ditch attempt to halt a planned 12-day strike.

According to the BBC, Brown said he was “very worried” by the possibility of the walkout and the government would do “everything it can” to bring the two sides together to resolve the dispute.

Brown said: “I am very worried about this and that is why I talked to Andrew Adonis, our transport minister, at six o’clock this morning.

“We are agreed that the different sides in this dispute have got to look outwards and not inwards, they have got to think of the passengers that they serve; they have got to think about the future of their company.

He added: “It is very serious when you have the possibility of a strike at Christmas. They will obviously go to court during the course of today and I don’t want to say anything that will affect the ability of the legal system to deal with this problem.”

His remarks were made as the airline seeks an emergency injunction at the High Court today to try to avert the planned strike by its cabin crew beginning on 22 December, which threatens travel misery for a million passengers over Christmas and the New Year.